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Personality traits and neuropsychiatric symptoms such as neuroticism and depression share genetic overlap and have both been identified as risks factors for development of aging-related neurocognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aimed to examine revised personality factors derived from the Temperament and Character Inventory, previously shown to be associated with psychiatric disorders, as predictors of neuropsychiatric, cognitive, and brain trajectories of participants from a population-based aging study. Mixed-effect linear regression analyses were conducted on data for the full sample (  = 1,286), and a healthy subsample not converting to AD-dementia during 25-year follow-up (  = 1,145), complemented with Cox proportional regression models to determine risk factors for conversion to clinical AD. Two personality factors, (CE: avoidance of new stimuli, high anxiety, pessimistic anticipation, low reward seeking) and (TL: inability to change, low autonomy, unaware of the value of their existence) were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, stress (CE), sleep disturbance (TL), as well as greater decline in memory, vocabulary and verbal fluency in the full sample. Higher CE was additionally associated with greater memory decline across 25 years in the healthy subsample, and faster right hippocampal volume reduction across 8 years in a neuroimaging subsample (  = 216). Most, but not all, personality-cognition associations persisted after controlling for diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Concerning risks for conversion to AD, higher age, and -ε4, but none of the personality measures, were significant predictors. The results indicate that personality traits associated with psychiatric symptoms predict accelerated age-related neurocognitive declines even in the absence of neurodegenerative disease. The attenuation of some personality effects on cognition after adjustment for health indicators suggests that those effects may be partly mediated by somatic health. Taken together, the results further emphasize the importance of personality traits in neurocognitive aging and underscore the need for an integrative (biopsychosocial) perspective of normal and pathological age-related cognitive decline.

This study examined determinants of attitudes towards and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in older adults, including variations in cultural context, socio-demographic factors (age, education, and gender) and the individual’s time perspective. Towards this end, 638 older adults in Italy (n = 262, M = 71.7 years) and Sweden (n = 376, M = 69.9 years) completed the Swedish Time Perspective Inventory (S-ZTPI), the Attitude toward Technologies Questionnaire (ATTQ), and questions regarding use of specific digital technologies (e.g. Internet, Skype, Facebook); data were collected in 2013–2014. The results showed more positive attitudes toward ICTs in Swedish compared with Italian elderly as well as more frequent use of technologies. Regardless of nationality, younger age and higher levels of educational attainment was positively associated with attitudes towards ICTs. Male gender was associated with higher ATTQ scores in the Italian, but not in the Swedish, sample. Time perspective accounted for significant variance beyond the foregoing variables. S-ZTPI Past Negative, Future Negative and Present Fatalistic in particular, were (negatively) related to ATTQ scores, with a similar pattern for ICT use. Future Positive and Present Hedonistic were positively associated with ATTQ scores, across the samples. In conclusion, between-person differences in time perspective organization are an important factor to account for variability in attitudes towards and use of ICTs in old age, and appears to exert an influence over and beyond other significant predictors, such as cultural context, age/cohort membership, and educational level.

Objectives To investigate the relationship between mindfulness and aspects of time perspective (TP, i.e., habitual views of past, present, future). Methods We examined cross-sectional associations between an established measure of mindfulness (FFMQ) and an extended version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (Swedish ZTPI; S-ZTPI) in a sample with little experience of mindfulness training ( n  = 212). In addition, we evaluated the effects of two mindfulness-based interventions (a mindfulness instructor course involving 29 participants and a mindful self-compassion program, n  = 40 for the intervention group, n  = 41 for controls) on mindfulness and measures of TP including an aggregate measure of deviations from a proposed optimal, or balanced, time perspective (DBTP). Results Cross-sectional data were consistent with a model by which part of the relationship between mindfulness and perceived stress is mediated by reduced DBTP. Global mindfulness scores showed the strongest (negative) associations with the S-ZTPI scales Future Negative and Past Negative. Comparisons of pre/post-intervention data revealed significant mindfulness-based intervention-related reductions of DBTP (Cohen’s d  = − 0.46), with lowered scores on Past Negative and Future Negative and a small increase on Past Positive. Conclusions The results support the notion that a higher level of mindfulness promotes a more balanced time perspective, with a reduced focus on negative aspects of the past and negative anticipations of the future. Relations to repetitive negative thought processes (rumination, worry) and a potential bidirectional influence of mindfulness and aspects of time perspective are discussed.

Most people’s cognitive abilities decline with age, with significant and partly genetically driven, individual differences in rate of change. Although APOE ɛ4 and genetic scores for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) have been related to cognitive decline during preclinical stages of dementia, there is limited knowledge concerning genetic factors implied in normal cognitive aging. In the present study, we examined three potential genetic predictors of age-related cognitive decline as follows: (1) the APOE ɛ4 allele, (2) a polygenic score for general cognitive ability (PGS-cog), and (3) a polygenic risk score for late-onset AD (PRS-LOAD). We examined up to six time points of cognitive measurements in the longitudinal population-based Betula study, covering a 25-year follow-up period. Only participants that remained alive and non-demented until the most recent dementia screening (1–3 years after the last test occasion) were included ( n  = 1087). Individual differences in rate of cognitive change (composite score) were predicted by the PRS-LOAD and APOE ɛ4, but not by PGS-cog. To control for the possibility that the results reflected a preclinical state of Alzheimer’s disease in some participants, we re-ran the analyses excluding cognitive data from the last test occasion to model cognitive change up-until a minimum of 6 years before potential onset of clinical Alzheimers. Strikingly, the association of PRS-LOAD, but not APOE ɛ4, with cognitive change remained. The results indicate that PRS-LOAD predicts individual difference in rate of cognitive decline in normal aging, but it remains to be determined to what extent this reflects preclinical Alzheimer’s disease brain pathophysiology and subsequent risk to develop the disease.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between social network variables and levels of and longitudinal changes in blood pressure in a middle-aged/older sample. The participants (50-75 years at baseline; n=1097) responded to questions concerning social relationships at baseline and their blood pressure (diastolic, systolic) was measured. Blood pressure levels were reassessed 5, 10, and 15 years later. Latent growth models with responses to questions concerning social relationships as predictors and basic demographic factors (age, sex) as covariates, unexpectedly indicated that a more limited social network (no close friend, few visits, little contact with friends in other ways, not living with someone, and a composite index based on all questions) was associated with significantly lower diastolic blood pressure levels. For systolic blood pressure a similar result was observed for one of the variables (lack of a close friend). In general, these effects diminished over time, as indexed by the positive relationship between several of the social variables and slope. The results were little affected by inclusion of additional covariates (e.g. measures of psychological distress, smoking/alcohol habits, and BMI) suggesting that the origins of this unexpected pattern of findings must probably be sought for in other subjectrelated factors, such as, for example, increased help seeking. Future studies should consider qualitative aspects (e.g. feelings of loneliness, quality of social relationships) in addition to structural aspects to provide a better understanding of these associations.

Olfactory impairments are present in common neurodegenerative disorders and predict conversion to dementia in non-demented individuals with cognitive impairment. In cognitively intact elderly, evidence is sparse regarding the role of olfactory deficits in predicting cognitive impairment. The present study investigated predictors of 5-year prospective decline in the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in a large ( n  = 501), population-based sample of elderly (65–90 years) individuals. All participants were genotyped for the ApoE gene, assessed for health factors, and were non-demented at the baseline assessment. After partialling out the influences of demographic and health-factors at baseline and dementia at follow-up, poor odor identification ability in combination with older age and the ApoE-ε4 allele predicted larger prospective global cognitive decline. This effect could not be produced by a vocabulary test. In sum, the findings suggest that an olfactory deficit can dissociate between benign and malign global cognitive development in non-demented, very old ε4-carriers, who are at high risk of developing dementia.

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe objective was to examine whether aspects of social relationships in old age are associated with all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). MethodsWe studied 1,715 older adults (≥ 65 years) who were dementia-free at baseline over a period of up to 16 years. Data on living status, contact/visit frequency, satisfaction with contact frequency, and having/not having a close friend were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regressions with all-cause dementia or AD as the dependent variable. To control for reverse causality and to identify potential long-term effects, we additionally performed analyses with delayed entry. ResultsWe identified 373 incident cases of dementia (207 with AD) during follow-up. The variable visiting/visits from friends was associated with reduced risk of all-cause dementia. Further, a higher value on the relationships index (sum of all variables) was associated with reduced risk of all-cause dementia and AD. However, in analyses with delayed entry, restricted to participants with a survival time of three years or more, none of the social relationship variables was associated with all-cause dementia or AD. ConclusionsThe results indicate that certain aspects of social relationships are associated with incident dementia or AD, but also that these associations may reflect reverse causality. Future studies aimed at identifying other factors of a person's social life that may have the potential to postpone dementia should consider the effects of reverse causality.

The impact of stressful life events as a risk factor of dementia diseases is inconclusive. We sought to determine whether stressful negative life events are associated with incidental dementia in a population-based study with long-term follow-up. We also tested the hypothesis that the occurrence of positive life events could mitigate or overcome the possible adverse effects of negative life events on dementia conversion. The study involved 2,462 dementia-free participants aged 55 years and older. Information on life events was ascertained at baseline from a comprehensive Life Event Inventory, which included 56 questions about specific life events. For each life event, the emotional impact (both positive and negative) and emotional adjustment were asked for. During follow-up, 423 participants developed dementia; of these, 240 developed Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cox regression analysis showed no association between the total number of negative life events and the incidence of dementia when adjusted solely for age and gender (hazard ratio = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.92–1.02), or with multiple adjustments for a range of covariates (hazard ratio = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.91–1.01). Similarly, neither emotional impact nor emotional adjustment to these life events was associated with incident dementia. A separate analysis of AD did not alter the results. The result of this population-based study finds no association between negative or positive life events and dementia. Accordingly, our results reject the hypothesis that stressful life events trigger the onset of dementia diseases.

In the present study, the authors investigated the effects of framing of options on risky decision making in groups of younger adults (M = 23.8 years, n = 192) and older adults (M = 69.1 years, n = 192). The participants were assigned to one of three scenarios varying in the goods at stake (human lives, paintings, money). The authors observed a majority preference in favor of the risky options after negative, but not positive framing. They also found, as they had predicted, that the type of framing effect varied across scenarios, with a bidirectional framing effect for the life-death scenario and unidirectional (risk averse) framing effects when public property (paintings) or personal property (money) were at stake. It is important to note that these choice preference patterns were highly similar across the age groups, which reinforced the conclusion that younger and older adults are equally susceptible to framing effects.

The objective of the present study was to examine relations between social network size and three cognitive abilities (episodic memory, semantic memory, visuospatial ability) in middle-aged adults. We analyzed cross-sectional data on social network size and cognitive functioning that were available for 804 participants aged 40–60 years. In addition, we examined 5- and 10-year follow-up measurements of cognitive functioning that were available for 604 and 255 participants, respectively. Cross-sectional analyses revealed a positive association between social network size and each of the three cognitive abilities. Baseline network size was positively related to 5-year changes in semantic memory, and to 10-year changes in semantic as well as episodic memory, but was unrelated to changes in visuospatial performance. A minor portion of the sample ( n  = 131) had 10-year follow-up data on network size. Cross-lagged panel correlations revealed that baseline network size was associated with follow-up measurement in cognitive functioning (episodic memory, semantic memory), whereas baseline cognitive performance was unrelated to future network size. Together, the results demonstrate a small but positive relation between network size and declarative memory abilities, in line with models proposing a cognitive reserve built up by factors such as the increased cognitive stimulation associated with a more extensive social network.